A Rose with no Thorns
by Captain Anne Cash
Summary: Crossover between Yu Yu Hakusho and Yugioh, and also AU. An important mission in Domino forces the team to travel there and attend a certain school, but will this new demon pose a threat to the team, an even greater threat then any they've ever had?
1. Prologue

**This is a crossover between 'Yu Yu Hakusho' and 'Yu-gi-oh', simply because I like the characters from both animes. If you do not know anything about the characters of Yu-gi-oh I suggest you not read this, as it may or may not cause confusion. **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor do I own Yu-gi-oh. I'm not making any profit whatsoever by writing this, so there should be no reason to sue. Even if you did, you wouldn't get much. You'd probably only get the dirty sock under my bed, as that is all I actually own. I've even lost the partner to the sock!

**Author's note: **I've absolutely no idea where I'm going with this. It just popped into my head one day and I now feel the need to write it down. Read and review and tell me what you think so far. Should I continue? Or is it too stupid to waste time on?

I think that I'm going to be introducing the Yu-gi-oh characters in the next chapter, if I write it, but I'm not totally certain.

**A Rose with no Thorns**

**Prologue**

"Hey Yusuke, could you please come over here for a moment?" Keiko called over her shoulder, trying to sound as innocent as possible. In actuality she didn't need to sound innocent at all, as Yusuke was rather dense and wouldn't think she was about to do something less than innocent in the first place, but she wanted to do it just in case.

They were currently walking down the sidewalk, leading toward Kurama's house. They had originally wanted to go there to make sure everything was taken care of for next week, but Yusuke had gotten sidetracked. For some unknown reason, he had decided to stop at the nearby park and fight with three rather large looking people, and Keiko was getting tired of it all. She just couldn't understand why he was constantly picking fights with normal humans. He knew that he would always win, and she found it rather inconsiderate and childish.

"Hold on! Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something?" Yusuke yelled just as he was about to throw a punch to one of the guys. Keiko rolled her eyes and turned around so that she was facing the fight, her arms crossed.

"Yes, I can see what you're doing, and I want it to stop! We need to get to Kurama's house and meet up with everyone, and you're going to make us late!" Keiko was just about ready to stomp her foot and walk to Kurama's house alone. This got old after a while.

Yusuke stopped what he was doing and rolled his own eyes, turning his back to the thugs to glare at his girlfriend, "This is my job!"

Keiko threw her hands up in disgust, "This is not your job! For your information, your so called job does not involve beating up people weaker then you are!"

"How do you know they're weaker then me? And they were picking on a little kid, I couldn't just stand by and watch it-" Yusuke was abruptly cut off when one of the guys grabbed him from behind, turning him around and punching him square in the face. The other two laughed as Yusuke fell to the ground.

Kieko immediately forgot the argument they were in only moments ago and started cheering Yusuke on, "Never mind Yusuke! Knock them down!" Her boyfriend came first, after all, and when someone hurt him she would always be on his side.

Even if Yusuke's side was, on most occasion, dangerous.

Yusuke grinned, "Oh, I will." He stood up and wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand, "I've not beat up anyone since yesterday, and Kuwabara's getting too easy to beat!" He made show of cracking his knuckles, and the thug that seemed to be the leader of the group cracked his as well, clearly not realizing what he was in for.

All the while, Keiko kept cheering.

* * *

"Why'd he pick today to be late? We gotta start talking about this!" Kuwabara slammed his left fist down on Kurama's coffee table, making Kurama shake his head and sigh. Every time Kuwabara visited he always ended up breaking something, and it was getting more difficult to lie to his mother about how it was broken. Last time Kuwabara came over he broke a lamp by tripping over the rug by the door, and his mother had loved that lamp. 

Well, it seemed as if the coffee table was the next thing to be replaced, "I am sure that they'll arrive soon, Keiko is rather responsible and I'm sure she won't let Yusuke wonder."

Hiei rolled his eyes, "Hn, I'm sure that Kurama appreciates the fact that you break everything in his house."

Kuwabara jumped up from where he was sitting to point his fist at Hiei, who merely regarded him through narrow red eyes, "I haven't broken anything you shrimp!"

"Yet," Hiei stated dully, and Kurama sighed again. They always argued, and if Yusuke and Keiko didn't arrive soon he feared he may go insane. Yes, he loved his friends and wouldn't trade them for the world, but they tended to get annoying after a while.

Still, he was becoming rather impatient as well and understood Kuwabara's outburst. Yusuke, he could understand being late, but Keiko was always so punctual. He had to wonder what was taking them so long, after all this was a very important meeting. His mother would be home in a couple of hours, and they needed to discuss everything before she got home.

The clock hanging on the wall opposite of Kurama chimed, indicating that it was now one o'clock in the afternoon. Yusuke and Keiko were one hour late.

"Man, I knew we shouldn't have trusted those two love birds to make it here by themselves! They probably stopped in an alley or something to get cozy!" Kuwabara couldn't help but shout, and Hiei leaned against the wall under the clock and closed his eyes, the white headband on his forehead glowing momentarily.

"They're almost here, only one block away," Hiei said tonelessly, and Kurama sighed in relief, glad that they could get on to what they needed to do.

"Finally! I'm gonna punch Urameshi's face in for making us wait!" Kuwabara said and an argument between Hiei and him started up again, making Kurama take a small seed out of his hair and swallow it, feeling the calming effects of the seed take place immediately. It was the seed of a plant from Makai, used mainly for healing small cuts while in seed form. If grown, the plant would have the ability to poison the strongest of demons, but as a seed it was harmless. The addition of his demon energy was what made it heal headaches, and he realized that he would soon need more of the helpful seeds. Kurama was running low.

"Honey, I'm home!" Yusuke suddenly called from the doorway with a sarcastic grin tugging from his lips, and they all turned and looked at him.

Keiko was taking her shoes off by the door and instructing Yusuke to do the same, something that Kurama was eternally grateful for, but what really caught his attention was the extensive amount of injuries Yusuke had. He looked terrible, though he was smiling as if he felt wonderful.

"What happened to you, Urameshi?" Kuwabara yelled out expectantly, and Yusuke only grinned as Keiko and he made their way to take a seat on the couch.

"Oh, nothing special," Yusuke said, "Just got bored with you and decided to get into a real fight."

Oh dear, Kurama thought with a secretive smile, it seemed as if another fight was about to break loose, and in his own living room as well.

Nothing special, indeed.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's note (READ): **I've used a quote from the Yu Yu Hakusho television series in this chapter. See if you can find it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or anything else that you recognize. I also do not own Yu-gi-oh, which will be appearing in the next couple of chapters.

**Author's Note:** I've got a little bit of a clue as to where this is going now. I doubt there will be any romance, just deep friendships. If you have a request for a certain couple though that you would like to see develop in this story, between the Yu-gi-oh characters or the Yu Yu Hakusho characters, then be my guest to tell me. I'll see what I can do.

**A Rose with no Thorns**

**Chapter One**

"Do you know when the Reikai Tentai will be arriving yet?" A soft baritone asked quietly, and the human like figure before him bowed respectively before answering.

"I'm afraid that I've not yet been able to gain access to the spirit fox's human mother, sire. She has been too close to other people for me to obtain her, but I'm hoping to be able to catch her unaware as she walks back to her house later today. I am certain that she will be alone then," The human disguise he wore now was that from a young child that had wondered away from his family and it was getting uncomfortable. Being a human was something he hated above all else. Still, he managed to bow once more before rising.

"You'd better be able to get her. We need that information," The soft baritone spoke again, his voice deadly this time and sending shivers down his servant's spine.

"I will not let you down, master," He lowered his gaze to the concrete floor humbly.

"You'd better not. I wouldn't want to have to . . . dispose of you."

The shadow child could only shiver.

* * *

"Alright, so what do we really know about this demon? And why isn't the toddler here to tell us what we need to do?" Yusuke asked finally, deciding that arguing with Kuwabara could wait a little while as they got onto more important matters. 

They were all seated in Kurama's living room, and Kurama had taken the liberty to make a pot of coffee while everyone was getting settled. He figured that they would need it, as coffee helped with staying awake and they would no doubt be staying awake for some time.

"Koenma told me everything about this mission a couple of days ago, so it would be pointless for him to be here when I could just as easily explain," Kurama answered the second question before the first, taking a drink of his coffee before setting the cup down on the table. He briefly thanked any God willing to listen that the table was not broken yet.

"This demon, you said earlier today it would be difficult to find. Explain," Hiei spoke up from where he was sitting, his arms crossed and his eyes holding no emotion. Before everyone had arrived, Kurama had told Hiei a little bit about the demon they were supposed to capture for Koenma and Hiei had not liked what he was told. His jagan eye could find anything, and Kurama telling him that it would be pointless to use his jagan was just like telling him Makai was closed for construction. It was ridiculous.

"You won't be able to find this demon by just searching, nor will you, Hiei, be able to find it with your jagan," Kurama said at last for everyone else's benefit, as they didn't know that.

"Why the hell not?" Yusuke asked, his confusion reflecting in everyone else's eyes. Hiei could find anyone, anywhere, so why couldn't he find this demon?

"It is because of the demon's ability. We know only of a couple of this demon's powers, and one of them is the ability to hide. It is able to blend into the shadows, becoming nothing more then a shadow itself. There will be no logical way to track this demon," Kurama watched as Yusuke's confusion became something else, a mild form of desperation.

"Then how do we find it?" Kuwabara asked after a moment of silence.

"Although this demon is able to blend with the shadows, it can only blend with the shadows of humans," Kurama explained patiently, waiting for someone to catch on and understand.

Hiei rolled his eyes, "We can find it during the night, when the sun is down. Or at least get a lead as to where the demon is residing."

Kurama smiled, "Exactly, though some people enjoy staying outside even in the night, and they are still able to have shadows, we can rule out the humans that go to sleep and do not have shadows, as the demon will more then likely stick with one specific human to turn into the shadow of."

"Can someone explain this so I can understand it? This is making no sense!" Kuwabara said, still looking confused.

Keiko smiled slightly. Kuwabara wasn't very intelligent, but there were a lot of qualities that Kuwabara had that made up for that, "It means that you guys need to look for this demon during the night."

"Well why didn't you just say that?" Kuwabara grumbled, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Hiei, "Tell me something, what does it feel like, living in a constant haze of stupidity?" Hiei asked with a smirk, and Kuwabara had to be held back by Yusuke so that he wouldn't start yet another fight.

"Could we continue?" Kurama broke the tense moment, clearing his throat in obvious agitation. Kuwabara sat back down, wanting nothing more then to wipe the smirk off of Hiei's face but knowing that he would have to wait until later.

"Alright, the other ability this demon has is the ability to emulate any human he so chooses. In other words," Kurama looked briefly to Kuwabara and gave a small smile, "This demon can imitate and take on the form of any human. As you can imagine, this demon will be rather difficult to find."

"So what does it look like when it's not a shadow or a copycat?" Yusuke asked nonchalantly, not seeming to care about it very much. He obviously didn't think this demon was much of a threat.

Kurama shook his head, "No one knows. This type of demon has never been seen in its true form. And, as it happens, the demon that we need to find is one of the most powerful of its kind."

"Well this should be a piece of cake!" Kuwabara said, trying to be the optimistic one. No one else seemed to be optimistic, and he figured that they needed at least one optimist, "I mean, it can't be any harder then Sensui, right?"

"Yeah, this demon probably can't even compare next to Sensui!" Yusuke added, sounding as if he truly believed that.

"I've not yet explained what it has done so far, and what Koenma wants it for. Maybe you both will change your mind once you know," Kurama spoke up, silencing both Yusuke and Kuwabara for the moment.

"Now what?" Kuwabara asked with a groan. The list on what this demon was capable of just kept growing, and all he really wanted to do was go to sleep.

Kurama sighed, "I'm afraid this demon has done more then just escape from Makai into the human world. Before it came into the human world, it was in the demon form of a prison for various crimes against demons, and now that it has escaped I'm afraid that it is going to give the humans the same fate his demon victims received."

"What did it do to its victims?" The question came from Keiko, although she sounded so unsure. It was as if she didn't really want to know, but knew that they would all need the information.

Kurama took a sip of his coffee and set it back down, "Well, it did numerous things. The end result was always the same though, the victims were all either killed or they disappeared. Koenma can't even track down the victims that had disappeared. By the scene of all of its crimes, it is perfectly obvious that the victims were tortured quite severally before death."

"Tortured?" Kuwabara echoed questioningly, not liking where this was going. Poor Keiko already looked sick to her stomach, and Kurama hadn't even gone over what was done to the victims yet.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I doubt I need to go into all of the details, as it is, when Koenma told it all to me I didn't really feel too well. There was one thing that always ended up on the bodies of the victims though, one thing that made us realize that this was no ordinary killer," Kurama paused and gazed solemnly around the room.

"Every victim had a dead butterfly lying on their chest. It was no coincidence that a butterfly just happened to die there; those butterflies were put there purposely. I feel like there should be some sort of connection between this killer and the butterflies, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Dead butterflies? Now that's just sick!" Yusuke muttered with a frown, and Keiko nodded silently beside him, too disgusted for words.

"Yes, it is, and we need to leave as soon as we can to be able and find this killer before it decides to start killing here in the human world." Kurama looked serious, his emerald eyes narrow and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"So let's go now then!" Yusuke said, determined to kill the twisted demon they were up against.

"I was thinking that we should leave tomorrow. It should only take a couple of hours to reach Domino City, where Koenma predicts this demon to reside. Keiko, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I need to tell our relatives about our prolonged absence still, and we all need to pack a little. Koenma gave me several thousand dollars for this mission, and I bought us a small apartment to share."

"You mean we're staying for that long? What about school?" Keiko asked, worried that her grades would drastically go down if she were to miss that much. In all honesty she didn't need to go, and would more then likely only slow the team down, but she couldn't stay here alone and worry for such a long time about everyone. She refused to stay and worry, and if she went with them she could make sure they were all alright.

Kurama gave a small smile, "I've taken the liberty of signing us all up to go to a school in Domino City. Well, all of us except for Hiei," He noticed that after he added that last part Hiei had breathed a sigh of relief, and Kurama's smile grew just a tab bit more.

"I figured that Hiei wouldn't want to go to a human school, and as he doesn't need to go I think that while the rest of us are in school Hiei should be scouting the city. Would you mind doing that, Hiei? To see if you find anything suspicious looking?" The question was directed to Hiei, who nodded to the arrangement in agreement. He would much rather scout then sit with several dozen ningens in a small room and learn things he didn't need.

"Damn! I thought this was going to be a chance for me to skip out for a couple of weeks!" Yusuke muttered, snapping his fingers in disappointment.

Kuwabara, Keiko, and Kurama laughed while Hiei could only snort in amusement.


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything you recognize from Yu Yu Hakusho. I do not own anything, plain and simple. This whole disclaimer thing is starting to become annoying. smiles

**Author's note: **I thank everyone who reviewed, as this chapter could never have happened without you guys. There's a dream that Kurama has in italics somewhere in this chapter, and it is rather important to the plot, just in case you're wondering how that has anything to do with this story. I've also decided that the Yu-gi-oh characters will be in the next chapter whether this story likes it or not, as I'm getting rather impatient and want to bring them into this as soon as I can.

I'd also like to congratulate the reviewer, 'sleep all night rock all day', for getting the quote that I used in the last chapter correct! Wonderful job, I can tell that you're a Yu Yu Hakusho fan!

Now, on with the show! Enjoy!

**A Rose with no Thorns**

**Chapter Two**

"Koenma sir, we've got a problem!" Boton said in a shaky voice as she ran into Koenma's office, out of breath and looking ruffled.

Koenma looked at her in concern, "What is it this time? There's always something wrong!"

"There's been a killing in Domino City, sir, a young girl named Yuro was killed in an abandoned warehouse," Boton quickly placed the girl's file down on Koenma's desk and tried to control her heavy breathing. She had come from the scene of the crime directly to Koenma's office, and that had been a rather treacherous journey.

Koenma opened the file to the first page and nearly swallowed his pacifier in shock. There were two photo's on the first page, one of the girl before her death and one of her after it had happened, "When did this happen?"

"It was only a couple of hours ago, Koenma sir," Boton's voice was sorrowful, "She was only eight years old, and she was t-tortured so much! I've already taken her soul to spirit world, so she can rest in peace. The poor dear," Boton let out a small sniffle.

Koenma shut the file, already too disgusted to look any further, "We knew that this would happen eventually, but I had no idea it would start out this bad. Boton, I need you to take this file to Kurama and tell him that under no circumstances is he allowed to show this to anyone else. We need the rest of the team to be ready for anything, and if they see this they'll panic."

Boton bowed respectively and took the file back, "Okay, is there anything else I can do?"

Koenma closed his eyes, "Pray, Boton, pray."

* * *

After the meeting and when everyone had left Kurama set about cleaning up the coffee cups scattered around the room. Yusuke had walked Keiko to her house, and Kuwabara had left with them, claiming that he was going to be watching after Yusuke. Of course, Yusuke had not taken well to that and another one of their fights had ensued, but Kurama could at least be grateful that they had waited until they were outside before starting. 

Hiei had left as soon as the meeting was over, not saying anything to anyone, but that was to be expected of the fire koorime. Talking had never been his stronghold.

"Shuiichi, I'm home!" Kurama heard Shiori call out from the living room, and he quickly turned off the sink water he was using to clean the dirty dishes to go and greet her. Wiping his hands off on the sink towel, he made his way out of the kitchen and saw his mother sitting on the couch, wearing her usual smile.

Something didn't really make much sense, "Hello mother, where are the groceries you were going to be buying? I'll put them away for you."

Shiori seemed to look uncomfortable, "Well I was going to buy them, honey, but I decided to stop at this lovely new restaurant that I saw as I was walking. I'm afraid that I lost track of time and forgot to buy them," She stood up and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Oh, well it's alright, we aren't really running low on anything anyway. Why don't you sit down? I'll go make you a cup of tea and we can talk about this new restaurant. I wasn't aware that a new one was being opened." Kurama didn't miss the startled look he was given in return for saying that, and wondered what exactly his mother was thinking. If only Hiei were here, he thought with a small smile as he went to the kitchen to prepare tea.

His mother was acting slightly off, Kurama noticed that she held her cup of tea in her right hand instead of her usual left, and he wasn't sure quite what to make out of it. Shiori was left handed, and holding a cup with her right hand usually leads to it being spilt upon the floor. Now though, she held it with such poise that he had to wonder if she were alright.

"Mother? I'm going to be leaving tomorrow morning at around nine with a couple of colleagues. We've been invited to enter into a school in Domino City because of our exceptional grade point average, and I was wondering if you're feeling well. I wouldn't want to leave you here alone if you're unwell," Kurama looked at his mother in concern as she almost dropped the tea cup she was holding out of surprise.

There had been several other times when he had to leave for long periods of time, thanks to his work, and this was the first time in a long while that Shiori had been so surprised.

"Oh, I feel perfectly alright, honey, don't you worry!" Shiori said, actually sounding enthusiastic, "Now, do you have everything you need packed already? If not I'll be happy to help you!"

Now Kurama was definitely suspicious. Shiori was never excited by the prospect of him leaving. In fact, she usually had trouble keeping her tears at bay. Something was most certainly wrong.

"Yes, I've already gotten everything packed, and are you certain you're alright, mother? You aren't acting your usual self," Kurama narrowed his eyes as Shiori assured him once again that she was feeling quite alright. Her scent was the same, and there was nothing to indicate that anything was really wrong, but he could tell that she was not her usual self.

The clock struck eight o'clock, and Shiori jumped at the sound before turned back to him abruptly and smiling, "It's so late! Why don't you head up to bed now, since you're leaving so early in the morning. I want you to be well rested for your trip tomorrow! When will you be back?"

Kurama looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments before standing up and bending down to give her a quick kiss on her forehead, "Alright mother, I suppose you are right. Will you be awake tomorrow, so that I may say goodbye properly?"

She nodded hesitantly and gaze up at him, "Of course honey, I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight, mother," Kurama waited until she said goodnight herself before heading up the stairs to his bedroom.

Something was wrong, he thought in confusion as he sat down at his desk, and he couldn't figure out what it was.

* * *

Hiei wasn't feeling particularly happy. Far from it, in fact. While roaming the city after leaving Kurama's house he had seen something moving in one of the alleys, and had gone to investigate. Sure, things moved in alleys all of the time, and there was no particular reason why he should have stopped for that one. 

Except for the fact that he thought he briefly smelled something coming from that alley that had the same stench Kurama's human mother had. That had made him want to look.

All that he got for it was a broken wrist.

He knew that there was something odd going on the second he ran into what felt like an invisible shield. The alley had been blocked, and without him even realizing it. He had never been caught unaware in the human world before, it was a new experience that he'd rather not have again.

When he rammed into the invisible barrier he had been thrown backwards, the collision between the ground and him snapping his wrist out of place. He was going too fast to feel the barrier before colliding into it, and he knew that he had to tell Kurama. It was, after all, his mother's scent all over that alley.

Hiei, after wrapping his wrist with the bandages that he always carried around with him, disappeared from the human street in a blur, heading toward Kurama's house.

* * *

_"What is it?" Kurama eyed the suspicious looking emerald in distaste. It was an old thing really, and overly large as well. The emerald was much too large to fit into his mother's locket, so why did she have it?_

_Shiori chuckled and held the stone up to the attic window. The moon was full, and the emerald made small rainbows around the room as the moon light touched it, "Your grandmother found it when she was a child, she liked to call it her secret treasure."_

_"It's beautiful when you shine it like that," Kurama murmured, staring at the stone in his mother's hand unblinkingly. Without light it looked like a mere rock, but with light it was more then just that, "Where'd she find it?"_

_Shiori held it up a little while longer, watching as the rainbows danced along the walls of the attic, "When your grandmother was little she got into everything," She glanced from the rainbows to Kurama and gave an affectionate smile, "just like you." _

_Kurama blushed, "Continue with the story," He didn't want to get into how he got into everything, because he knew that it was true, and he purposely did that. He couldn't understand why his mother adored him so, after all he always tried to make things difficult for her. _

_"Alright, alright," Shiori chuckled and lowered the emerald, turning it back into a dull shade of green, "She was around seven, just like you are, when she decided to go exploring in her neighbors yard. They had gone away for the weekend, you see, and she had all the time in the world to explore."_

_"Well, it turned out that they had a quiet little dog that she didn't know about. He had been left in the backyard with a couple of bowls of food, and was in the middle of digging through their garden when she came in and scared him," She paused and looked down at the emerald in her hand, gazing at it fondly. _

_"After calming the little pup down, your grandmother decided to play with him. They dug in that garden for hours, and by the time they were through with it the flowers were all scattered around the yard and your grandmother was covered from head to toe in dirt. She told me that she found that emerald buried under one of the flowers. She said it was buried into the roots of the flower and that she worked for several minutes trying to get it untangled from them. She treasured this emerald with all of her heart, Shuiichi, and I'm sure that you will, too," Shiori ruffled her sons hair and handed him the treasure._

_"Keep it safe, son, because that thing is special." _

_Kurama looked at the large, ugly rock in his hands before nodding solemnly, "I will." _

"Kurama, wake up!" Kurama jumped awake, startled by the voice above him and by the urgency he heard in it. He rubbed his eyes slightly and looked to see Hiei standing by his bed with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Hiei? What is it?" Kurama asked, concern dancing through his eyes. His friend was rarely ever so emotional.

Hiei shook his head, a look of sadness briefly flashing through his eyes, "Your human mother is missing."

Kurama's heart stopped.


	4. Chapter Three

**Author's note (IMPORTANT): **This chapter is just a filler for what's to come, nothing really happens in this chapter, but it had to be done. I'm not going into great detail with the Yu-gi-oh characters, as I'm assuming everyone reading this knows about them a little bit. This takes place a little after the Battle City Tournament, in case you were curious. Oh, and Tea Gardener isn't my favorite character, but I will be trying to restrain my dislike for this story. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask them, because if you have a question then it is more then likely someone else has that same question, and it will benefit everyone for me to answer them.

**Disclaimer:** Must I really say this again? I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor do I own Yu-gi-oh. There, are you satisfied? Good.

Thank you all for the lovely reviews, I really do appreciate them! Enjoy!

**A Rose with no Thorns **

**Chapter Three**

"It looks like there was no struggle at all . . . it's as if mother just walked out of her own accord," Kurama murmured quietly, staring at Hiei with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

Hiei did not reply in words, but he did put a hand on Kurama's shoulder. If Kurama had been standing he wouldn't have been able to do that, as he wasn't nearly as tall as Kurama was, but Kurama was sitting on the couch in the living room, so it was rather simple. Before waking Kurama up he had made sure that Shiori was really missing by checking with Koenma in the spirit world. Koenma had looked for a couple of hours, but there was not a trace of her. Shiori had disappeared.

"Where was it that you smelled her scent? I should go and see if I find anything," Kurama asked suddenly, coming out of the trance like state he had been put into.

Hiei sighed, "I went back there after checking with Koenma and the alley was empty. The barrier was no longer put up, but Shiori's scent was no where to be found either."

"Have you tried your jagan?" Kurama narrowed his eyes, thinking that if Hiei couldn't find her then she would be gone forever. He couldn't accept that though. Kurama had been through a lot with Shiori, and had almost died for her several times. He wouldn't let her disappear without trying his best to find her.

"Yes, but it won't work. Every time I try to look for your mother specifically my jagan shuts down completely," Hiei replied with a grimace. His jagan could find anything, and admitting to someone, even someone as close to him as Kurama was, that he couldn't find a missing person was humiliating.

Kurama shook his head, "No, no, don't tell me that Hiei, please don't tell me that. The only reason your jagan would stop working was if the person was no longer in the living world . . . or it could mean . . ." Kurama trailed off there, thoughtfully gazing up at the ceiling. Hiei let him think; just standing by quietly in case he needed anything.

"You say your jagan shut down completely? In what ways does it shut down?" Kurama asked finally, staring seriously at Hiei.

Hiei thought for a moment, "Usually when I use my jagan to search out something I see the images of where it is in my mind, like a moving animation on your television," He paused to point toward Kurama's television set, "But when I searched for Shiori it was as if the screen went black."

Kurama paled, "That could only mean one thing then. Koenma, while telling me about the demon we're going to be hunting, mentioned that the jagan would 'go black', as he called it, whenever someone with a jagan tried to look for the missing victims."

Hiei's eyes widened, and Kurama nodded, "Then, I didn't understand what he meant by going black, but now it makes perfect sense."

"That bastard took my mother, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her back," Kurama stood up, letting Hiei's hand fall gently from his shoulder. He walked calmly up the stairs and brought down his one small bag of necessities that he was going to be taking to Domino City. He then proceeded to the front door, Hiei trailing after him. The clock struck two o'clock in the morning, and they both ignored it.

"We're going to Domino City, and we're leaving now."

* * *

"Yusuke! Get your lazy ass up because we're leaving early!" Kuwabara, dressed only in pajama pants, stood outside Yusuke's house with his hands around his mouth to make his voice project into the house. Kurama had arrived at his house at around two thirty, literally pulling him from his bed and dragging him to Kurama's van. 

He barely had any time at all to grab his own bag of clothing before being dragged away, and now, he was cold.

"Yusuke! If you don't get out here right now I'm sending Keiko in there to get you herself!" The threat was valid, as Keiko had been picked up before he was and currently sat comfortably in the back seat of the van, more then likely sleeping. It was much too early for this, and no one really knew why Kurama had decided to leave so early.

Yusuke walked out then, his hair ruffled and his green jumpsuit in wrinkles. He also carried a bag in his hand, no doubt filled with all of his clothing, "What the hell is going on? We're supposed to be leaving at like nine, not two!"

Kuwabara crossed his arms, "I don't know, Kurama just said that we _have_ to leave now. He looked really mad. Anyway, Keiko's in the van, and I think the shrimp is runnin' there, because he said something about not liking human machinery. So let's go already!" He turned around and quickly got into the van, looking around for his bag to get some clothes on.

A moment later Yusuke followed, making certain that the door to his house was locked before doing so. Atsuko, his mom, wasn't inside the house, and probably wouldn't be for a long while, and he didn't want anyone breaking in and stealing . . . well, the only thing worth stealing was the television, and it was old anyway. Yusuke smirked as he got into the passenger seat of the van and thought to himself that at least he never had to worry about thievery.

As soon as all of the doors were shut Kurama started the van, pulling out of the parking lot he was in and heading toward a main road. Yusuke looked in the back to find both Keiko and Kuwabara asleep in their own respective seats, Keiko sleeping more quietly then Kuwabara. He then turned to look at Kurama, who was looking ahead and remaining silent as he drove.

"Hey Kurama?" Yusuke asked both quietly and softly, "What's wrong? I mean, you just look like you want to kill something."

"Maybe that's because I do want to kill something, Yusuke. Don't worry about it, just go to sleep and we'll be there when you awaken," Kurama replied without taking his eyes from the road, his voice cold and hard.

Yusuke decided that an angry Kurama was not one that he wanted to make even angrier, and promptly shut up.

* * *

"Are you sure that your yami didn't have anything to do with that, Ryou?" Joey Wheeler, a self-sacrificing duelist and one of the ex-bullies of the school asked with narrowed eyes, looking at Ryou Bakura in suspicion. It was currently lunch time, the best time of the day in Joey's opinion, and all of his friends were sitting around him, including Ryou. 

They were trying to figure out if Ryou's yami had anything to do with the vicious killing that had recently taken place only a few blocks from the school, and so far they had gotten no where. Ryou didn't seem to know anything about it, and there was no evidence that the crime was the tomb robber's fault, but they all had to admit that Ryou's yami liked to do things viciously. It could very well have been him, and if so they needed to find out immediately.

The only efficient way to figure out if the tomb robber had anything to do with it was to let Yugi Motou's Yami forcibly draw him out of the Millennium Ring with his own Millennium item.

For some reason though, Ryou didn't want them to do that.

Ever since they had returned from the Battle City Tournament Ryou has been defending his yami. Every time someone said something bad about his yami he'd get defensive and counter it with a good quality he supposedly had. Not that they didn't believe Ryou when he told them of how kind his yami was becoming . . . they just had their doubts.

Many, many doubts.

Ryou glared, "Of course I'm sure. How many times must I say that Bakura would never kill a young girl without reason? He's changed." He called his yami Bakura, simply because no one knew his real name.

"Fine, I understand, but you can't deny that your yami could've done it. I mean, he can be pretty evil," Joey couldn't help but try to persuade Ryou into letting them force the evil tomb robber out. It was, after all, for a very important reason.

"I don't believe I heard any of you trying to blame Yugi's yami, and he's just as bad!" Ryou said with another glare before grabbing his half eaten sandwich and standing up, "I don't want to hear about it anymore. I think I'll go spend my time in the library, at least there I'll have a little bit of peace," With that said he turned swiftly and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving his four miserable friends behind.

"Yami is not nearly as bad as Bakura! In fact, Yami is better then most people!" Tea Gardener, the only female of the group had to shout, defending the person she felt she loved. Yami was what everyone called Yugi's yami, and everyone thought of Yami as another part of their group.

Yugi seemed torn, "I know what Ryou's going through though. If someone blamed Yami for the murder I would defend him with my life. Ryou probably just feels like he has to protect his yami, since they share a bond."

Tea huffed, "I still don't think he should've said that about Yami. In fact, he should apologize."

Tristen Tayler, the other ex-bully of the school and the last of the group joined in on the coversation there, "Maybe we should just give him time. For all we know Ryou could be tellin' the truth and Bakura could really have gone good."

Everyone turned toward him and stared blankly, and Tristen laughed nervously, "Or, you know, he could just be trying to protect Bakura, like Yugi said." Everyone stared for another moment before going back into a discussion of what they should do about Ryou and his Yami, while Tristen could only sigh.

He sometimes felt as if he didn't belong with the group anymore, like they were far better then he was. He couldn't duel, and that had a major effect on his place in the group. He was always the last to be invited to go to the arcade with them, always the last in everything when it came to them. Tristen didn't really know why he bothered. He knew that he could find friends who appreciated him more somewhere else, but he just never tried.

Perhaps it was time for a change.


End file.
